What Exactly Is Ant-Man Doing In Captain America: Civil War?

There were many great moments featured in the Captain America: Civil War footage that debuted during the D23 Expo, but nothing in the reel topped the final scene featuring Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang. Rudely awoken by a group of Avengers while sleeping in the back of a van, the shrinking superhero finds himself absolutely star-struck by the presence of Chris Evans’ Captain America, falling all over his words in hilarious fashion. The moment served to only make us more excited about the upcoming blockbuster, but it also got us thinking: what exactly is Ant-Man’s role going to be in the movie?

Those who saw Peyton Reed’s Ant-Man know that the D23 footage isn’t the first time that the hero has been linked to the 2016 film, as there were some hints about his potential part in Civil War during the post-credits sequence of Marvel Studios’ most recent comic book feature. In that scene we saw Captain America and Falcon hanging out with a trapped Bucky Barnes in a dank basement, and hinting that Scott Lang would be an asset to them in an upcoming mission. With this scene factored in, the big question turns to being about both the mission that needs to be carried out, and why Ant-Man is the right guy to help them do it.

So this is where the speculation starts.

From the context of the post-credits scene, it’s made clear that whatever Ant-Man is actually needed for somehow involves Bucky Barnes - and while the insect-sized hero is best known for his ability to break into places and stealing stuff, I wonder if his role in Captain America: Civil War is more along the lines of an extraction. This might be taking a leap, but seeing how helpless both Cap and Falcon are, it’s entirely possible that Bucky has found himself in a place where superheroes just are not supposed to be after the passing of the superhero legislation known as "the accords" (which would also go a long way in explaining why Tony Stark can't help them). In order to get the former brainwashed assassin out of that location, the two Avengers need someone who can operate under the radar, and who better for that than a guy who can shrink down to the size of an insect? When you think about it, an extraction isn’t much different than a heist – it just tends to have has a lot more emphasis on the getaway.

At this point, there really isn’t enough information floating around in regard to what part Ant-Man will play in the plot of Captain America: Civil War, but the footage that we’ve seen thus far from both Peyton Reed’s movie and the D23 Expo reel have given us a lot to chew on for speculation purposes. Now that I’ve said my piece, though, I want to hear what you guys think. What’s the incredible shrinking superhero doing in the Joe and Anthony Russo-directed blockbuster? Hit the comments with your thoughts.